19. May 2025
Graham’s Blend Series Competition 2025
Roman Mutzner wins the Swiss final – and takes victory in Porto.
On 6 May 2025, seven selected bartenders from all over Switzerland gathered at the Bar am Wasser in Zurich to compete against each other in the national final of the Graham’s Blend Series Competition 2025. The task: an innovative cocktail based on Graham’s Blend N°5 White Port or Blend N°12 Ruby Port. Port wine in mixology – on the way to the next level.
Roman Mutzner from the Einstein Bar St. Gallen impressed the high-calibre jury, consisting of Emiliano di Renzo (Market Manager, Graham’s Port), Martina Wilhelm (Marmite Youngster winner 2024, Sommelière category) and Leonardo Mesmer (winner of the Swiss Competition 2024 and finalist in Porto), with his creation ‘Trail of the Pines’. With his fine balance of creativity, technique and storytelling, Mutzner secured first place in the Swiss final. This qualified him for the global final from 25 to 27 May 2025 in Porto – where he once again shone and took home the international title.
We congratulate all the finalists on their outstanding creations – and especially Roman Mutzner on his double victory. This year’s competition impressively demonstrated how much innovation, precision and passion there is in modern bar culture.
Port wine as a cocktail base? For the participants in the Graham’s Blend Series Competition, this is not a vision of the future, but a reality.
The winning cocktails: creativity meets craftsmanship
1st place – ‘Trail of the Pines’ cocktail
(Roman Mutzner)
A cocktail with Graham’s Blend No. 5, single malt whisky, thyme-infused vermouth, pine cordial and apple juice.
Recipe:
- 4 cl Graham`s Blend No. 5
- 2 cl The Balvenie Double Wood 12 Year Old Single Malt Whisky
- 1 cl Carpano Dry Vermouth infused with lemon thyme
- 2 cl pine syrup (homemade)
- 1.5 cl fresh apple juice
- 5 drops of chocolate bitters
- 2 drops of saline solution (10%)
2nd place – Cocktail ‘Forget Me Not’
(Celine Wassmer)
The drink combines Graham’s Blend No. 5 with pisco, RinQuinQuin, verjus, almond-honey syrup and olive oil caviar.
Recipe:
- 3.5 cl Graham’s Blend No. 5
- 2 cl Pisco 1516 fat-washed with olive oil
- 1.5 cl RinQuinQuin
- 3 cl Verjus Schwarzenbach
- 1.5 cl almond and honey syrup
- 10 drop of Better Bitters Foamer
- Garnish: The Seventh Sense Juice Peach Bitters, olive oil caviar
3rd place – Cocktail ‘Feel so close’
(Andrea Pesce)
A Collins cocktail that reinterprets the historical connection between Graham’s and Scotland. Blend No. 12 meets Monkey Shoulder whisky and a homemade, fermented soda made from wildflower honey, tea, cardamom and berries – a prime example of modern fermentation techniques and zero waste in mixology.
Recipe:
- 4.5 cl Graham’s Blend No. 12 Ruby Port
- 1 cl Monkey Shoulder Whisky The Original
- 9 cl Lacto-fermented wildflower honey flavoured berries, green cardamom and Assam black tea soda (homemade)
- Garnish: Lacto-fermented berries honey grid tuile (from the fermented berries)
Port wine in mixology – on the way to the next level
We congratulate all the finalists on their outstanding creations and wish Roman Mutzner every success at the global final in Porto.
This year’s competition once again showed how much innovation and precision there is in modern bar culture. Port wine as a cocktail base? For the participants in the Graham’s Blend Series Competition, this is not a vision of the future, but a reality.
Graham’s Blend Series
The Graham’s Blend Series stands for a fresh and innovative interpretation of port wine. The pioneer is Blend No. 5 White, followed by Blend No. 12 Ruby Port – the first ports to be blended specifically for blending. A modern and award-winning label design by fashion illustrator António Soares gives the Blend range a striking and versatile presence on the cocktail scene, while also being attractive to the trade. With the Blend range, a new chapter in the history of port is being written.
